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Police have talked with several witnesses in the Campustown area early Sunday morning who saw McKee up on a fifth floor balcony of the Legacy Apartments. The witness accounts have helped officers piece together the moments before McKee fell.

"From speaking with witnesses he was by himself, there was no one else out there on the railing or the balcony at that time," said Ames Police Commander Jim Robinson. "It's our understanding that he had attended a couple of parties throughout the evening leading up to this incident."

There's about a 4-foot railing along the edge of each balcony that Robinson said meets requirements for city code.

Police are now trying to figure out why McKee climbed over the railing onto the ledge.

"There were no other individuals out, so he was not pushed and there's nothing of a criminal nature," Robinson said. "In regards to whether he just fell or if this was an intentional act is something we're still looking into."

McKee is in critical condition Monday afternoon.

According to a university spokesperson, McKee is classied as a freshman studying engineering. He enrolled at Iowa State in the fall of 2011. He is from Robins, Iowa, and attended Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School.

Iowa State students who live at the complex said they believe railings on the balconies are high enough.

"You would definitely have to make an effort to get over the top," sophomore Whitney Williams said.

Williams said she and her roommates are going to be more careful in the future.

"We're all pretty cautious about making sure nobody is climbing on it or leaning over. We don't want anything like that to happen to us," Williams said.

Sunday's fall is the second fall from a balcony in Ames this year.

Back in April, Mitchell Odell, 21, of Cedar Rapids, died after falling off a fourth-floor balcony at 2519 Chamberlain St.

The cause of his death was multiple blunt force trauma from the fall, and his death was ruled accidental.